Welcome to the official CQUniversity Student Blog – CQUniLife. This blog follows the experiences of a diverse group of CQUniversity students from different countries, studying various programs and at various campuses throughout Australia.

Uni opens up a 3D world of opportunities

Hi, my name is Jordan Steel and I am currently studying a Diploma
of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at CQUniversity. I am based
at the Townsville campus and am in my last term of study!

A LITTLE ABOUT MY BACKGROUND

Ever since high school I’ve loved computers. I would pull
them apart and put them back together again to see how they worked. I did work
experience at the Ipswich City Council working at their help desk department
when I was in Year 10. When I finished high school back in 2011, I decided that
I would go straight to university. I studied a Diploma of Screen and Media and
a Bachelor of Animation at a university in Brisbane.

Jordan and Eden Steel

After receiving my degree, I was blessed with the
opportunity to move to Townsville following my wife Eden in her fulltime career
as a music teacher. I spent a year searching for jobs in my field and was
presented with an opportunity to become an intern for a large company as a help
desk worker. This experience provided me with a great deal of knowledge in the
IT field and spurred me on to learn more in the area of Information Technology,
which lead me to CQUni.

MY TIME AT CQUNI

While my classes have been small with sometimes as little as only eight students, this gave me much more time one-on-one with the lecturers allowing all of my questions to be answered. The classes have always been fun and have taught me a lot about programming, which I had originally struggled with in the past. The classes have been so interesting and have given me the bravery to start my own business creating computers.

The Diploma of ICT has provided me with the knowledge to head into the workforce with confidence. I have learned so much over the past year and it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

3D PRINTING

At the start of this year, I was approached by my lecturer asking if I would like to be a part of the 3D printing team at CQUni Townsville. I jumped at the opportunity as I had done some animation work in the past and could use this opportunity to create my own designs for testing. I have been working with the staff together to create intricate designs and test the 3D printer to its limits. I have had so much fun printing things like hairy lions and articulating llamas, as well as more useful things such as a toothpaste squeezer and a dragon door knocker. I mean, who couldn’t use a dragon door knocker in their lives?

The printing started out tough as I had never used a 3D
printer before. I made some silly mistakes like printing parts in mid-air or testing
settings to see which were the best. There were many failed attempts and also some
great outcomes.

WHAT’S NEXT?

There are many different things I would like to do once I have finished studying. I have not decided yet, but I would love to continue onto the Bachelor and hone my craft. I would also love to build and grow my business, Dondee Custom Computers, work for a company in the IT department and even teach IT or 3D printing to students at a school.